Be welcome! You are watching my personal pixel update platform for my painted metal meneken. Sounds mental as it is. Semi-Strictly 28mm. History 'light'. No magnifiers were used in this process. What I have, what will be painted, what I like, what rules I favour and more.
Watch this space and be patient!

Monday, 31 August 2015

After I blocked myself with for a long time painting stuff for other campaigns and projects, I was able to return to my favourite, the renaissance. Since half a year ago a block of Pro Gloria/Warlords Landsknechte was waiting to be turned into something different, "La Bande Nere" or "die Schwarze Bande". A must have, I think, if you want to dabble into the Italian Wars of the Renaissance.

As you might guess, I envisioned my "Bande Nere" to be reinforced by companies of the "Great or Black Guard" of the Northern German Mercenary market, hence the white and black infusion of the otherwise reds and blacks of Giovannis men, all of course under payment of the French king. I guess "Black" was a convenient self-titulation that should help to "reinforce" the terror spreading unique selling point of these hordes, not so much as an outfit descriptive.

I think I might add some arquebusiers and some halberdiers. But next thing in front of the paint pots are the Perry's light Cavalry for the same period. ...

Sunday, 23 August 2015

Last Thursday I was invited to join in a little bit of "Muskest and Tomahawks" with Cambell, Tim and Angus. As everybody was too polite to pick a side, I picked the Brits, Campbell and Tim the French and Angus the umpired (an oxymoron, if there is one) a bit and moved the British allied forces, some skirt waving Highlanders of some sorts.

The plot was easy the Indians and the French were to destroy the village and its vigil inhabitants, and we had to save them. We also get some side plots, mine was that my officer hated the unit he was leading and win the plot, if they get destroyed - almost Wagnerian.

The first round the Canadians and Indians advanced and set three of the four village building a blaze, not without some tough resistance, the officer from Campbell's French regulars was beaten up, and killed in the process, by a female towns person and her off-spring. You don't mess with those Arcadians!

Tim, in the meantime tried to outflank my British Light Infantry (regulars) and some of the "last Mohicans". His Indians had to cross a tiny rivulet, which presented for me an opening enough to open fire on them, blasting them back to where they had learned those simple battle antics from the elder women folk of the settlements, I presume.

While the Highlanders under Angus made progress on the left, I let my Redcoats form a line and ... blasted everything away that was in our path. With a bit of collateral damage aside, we saved most of the inhabitants of the hamlet in an humanitarian effort. We put the village under royal rule again and followed up to sweep up the fleeing aggressors.

Sunday, 16 August 2015

We slaughtered the on coming British, shot the Dragoons from their steeds, stemmed the Hessian tide and stand steadfast for 12 turns!!! That is nearly a day in Black Powder measurements!

But I'm not so sure if we did Washington truly a favour.

Well, OK there was these victory conditions that the British win, if they had units on the hill, while we don't, for one turn, and every turn we could hold on, one regiment would get away (further) from the British main force(on the campaign board). Yes, we saved probably 12 Continental Army Regiment to get away to fight another day ... at the cost of hrm, well, 14 of ours, amongst them Haslets Chickens and the Smallwood's Regt. and the beautiful 3rd New York Regt., ouch!

Howe on earth could that have happened?

Well, first of all Bart (as von Heister) opted for Rall to come in on the hill on the other side of the Bronx (Angus played the Hessian troops) and the other Hessians von Donop came in a bit late. Bart got the artillery battery in position on Woolf Pit Hill and bombarded the American line the whole battle for no good (for the ones who don't know Bart he used his famous "orange" dice, I think I will join the club petition now to abandon this "device" as the average mathematical possibility of sixes are clearly over 16,666% on that one).

So ,we lost unit after unit to Bart merciless artillery fire. Meanwhile Angus, aka Rall, came out of the right flank and shoot my State levies and militia down bit by bit. He didn't even gave me the grace of a melee (until later when he lost "the other" unit of the total British casualties).

Then Bart ordered the Dragoons to sweep around, over the bridge into our rear, just like historical one did, but crucially at the end of the battle. Because our troops got re-inforcement at that moment , they shot the dragoons off their saddles. That was the American height of things, from then on it went only from worse to §$%&/!"!

The Lobsters took the field, textbook style. And we got the bloody noses this time, big time.

We "maybe" saved the day, but certainly not our own arses.

(Figures: provided by me and Jack, mostly Perry or Perry-Foundry, Flags: mine are mostly Flags of War some GMB, Jack's flags are all original but stone-washed until shrunk to the exact size, Terrain: the hill, by me, the rest courtesy of the club)

Monday, 3 August 2015

No game? - impossible! So Campbell dreamed off an instant Great CoC game with me and Tim on the French side and Angus starring as German playing with my Stosstruppen and some tanks (Great War miniatures and Warlords). And I forgot my camera and anyway it was such a thrilling game - that I must refer to Angus website for the battle rap, pardonnez moi, too much red wine and lazyness.http://www.edinburghwargames.com/Journal%20108.html

We didn't made it to the other trench, but we weren't totally anihilated so it must have been a draw.